There is a significant difference in the prices of clothes for boys and clothes designed for girls, it has been claimed.

Price-conscious mums and dads are angry about an apparent gender price gap which means they are obliged to pay extra for girls' clothes.

Research, carried out by parenting site ChannelMum.com ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, found that some 71 per cent of parents say that they have to spend more on items of clothing that are almost identical.

And it appears that this gender price gap begins when kids are just 12-months old, report Mirror Online.

The phenomenon has been labelled a 'pink tax' because pink items are often more costly.

For example, researchers found that a blue-and-green-striped jacket from George at Asda costs £8-£9 for 1-6-year-olds.

This Asda coat for boys is cheaper than a similar item for girls

But a similar jacket in pink rises to £10-£12 in the same store.

When it comes to underwear, a pack of boy’s briefs in Marks and Spencer will set parents back £4-£7, while the same number of girl’s briefs will amount to £6-£8.

It’s not just clothes though with a pair of blue inline roller skates in Argos costing £7.99, while the pink pair rises to £10.99.

This coat for girls from Asda costs £2 more than a virtually identical coat for boys

Girls aren’t always paying more as a pair of white skinny jeans from River Island are priced at £20 for boys but just £16 for girls.

Fifty-eight per cent of parents reckon they have to pay more for accessories aimed at young girls while 52 per cent believe the cost of a girl’s coat is often higher than one for a boy.

T-shirts and tops (37%), nightwear (21%) and underwear (17%) are also among the items of clothing parents believe are priced higher for girls.

Girls' pants from M&S

By contrast, boys are charged more for shoes, noticed by 28 per cent of parents, and jeans (44%).

On average, girls’ items were priced at 21 per cent higher than the equivalent item for boys, but the items where boys were charged more averaged just 13.5 per cent more expensive.

Boys' pants from M&S

Previous studies have shown adult women are regularly charged more for items ranging from razors to dry cleaning in a move called the ‘pink tax’ - with the same average price gap of 21 per cent as female toddlers and young girls.

MPs have debated clamping down on the practice for adults and now a huge 97 per cent of the 1,156 parents polled by ChannelMum.com want gender-based pricing for children’s items stamped out too.

Fifty-five per cent are calling for it to be made illegal, while 42 per cent back a voluntary code of conduct for retailers and manufacturers.

Girls' white skinny jeans from River Island

Almost three in five think gender pricing is simply a ‘rip off’ by retailers designed to hit parents, with 55 per cent claiming stores believe parents will pay more for girls’ items.

A further 56 per cent believe retailers make it difficult to compare prices by dividing items into ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ sections, with 37 per cent saying they would back moves to make all kids’ items ‘gender-neutral’.

Boys' white skinny jeans from River Island

As a result, a third of mums and dads are shunning stores which use gender-based pricing and 22 per cent have ‘named and shamed’ firms using gender-based pricing on social media.

However, 15 per cent also believe stores are beginning to end gender-pricing discrimination as parents are becoming wise to the practice.

Siobhan Freegard, founder of ChannelMum.com, said: “Treating baby girls as a commodity to be exploited aged just 12 months old is terrible.

“The so-called ‘pink tax’ is bad enough for adult women but a pink tax for tots is just plain wrong.